Flowbec – FLOW and Benthic ECology 4D

The FLOWBEC project aims to improve the understanding of how the physical behaviour of the water such as currents, waves and turbulence at tide and wave energy sites influences the behaviour of marine wildlife, and how tide and wave energy devices might alter the behaviour of such wildlife.

The project is jointly funded by NERC and DEFRA

Grant number NE/J004332/1

Project Aims

To improve understanding of the fine scale details of the flow regime in areas of high tidal and wave energy and the effects of Marine Renewable Energy Devices (MREDs) on flow conditions

To assess the hydrodynamic habitat preferences of various relevant functional ecological groups (benthos, plankton, fish, birds & mammals), and how individual species may use preferred flow conditions for successful feeding, reproduction and other major biological activities.

To parameterize the flowfield with and without the effects of both single and multiple MRED deployments and include the mechanistic links to ecological interactions that would enable their inclusion in wider area models and to be developed to allow predictions of large arrays of devices on the environment.

Work will be conducted at three marine renewable energy test sites - EMEC, WaveHub and Strangford Lough. A range of measurement and modelling systems will be used to to improve our understanding of the interaction of hydrodynamics and the wildlife found around them.

Two deployments of the frame were carried out at the EMEC tidal site led by the University of Aberdeen team – one within metres of the Atlantis Turbine Piling, and the other at a control site away from turbine infrastructure. Both deployments used a new mooring methodology that did not require trailing mooring lines and relied on an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to attach the recovery line – successful in both instances. Simultaneous radar and shore observations were made during the deployments, and data return for both two-week deployments has been excellent.

Following on from the success of the tidal site deployments, two further two-week deployments of the frame were carried out at the EMEC Billia Croo wave site using conventional mooring lines for deployment and recovery. The frame was successfully recovered both times and data return has been excellent. Simultaneous radar and shore based observations were made from this site too.

A spatially highly resolved benthic survey using a dropdown video system was successfully carried out in summer 2013 in the immediate vicinity of the SeaGen tidal turbine in the Strangford Narrows. The video data are currently being analysed by the Queens University Belfast team. A fine scale resolution model of flow around a conceptualised tidal turbine in a narrow strait has been developed and will be applied to SeaGen.

June 2012 – First FLOWBEC frame deployment at EMEC tidal test site

Researchers from the Universities of Bath and Aberdeen together with Marine Scotland Science have mounted two state-of-the-art sonar systems on a sea bed frame close to a tidal energy structure to monitor fish and other wildlife that pass through the area and how they interact with the installation. These sonars are normally operated from the surface looking down at the sea-bed. For the first time they have been adapted to operate autonomously for several weeks, imaging a full 'acoustic curtain' along the tidal flow and around the structure in a highly challenging environment.
The researchers are working together to identify the wildlife detected by the monitoring systems, how the various species preferentially use areas of water with different characteristics, and how the surrounding environment is affected by the presence of the structure.
The team deployed the sea bed frame for two weeks at the end of June 2012 and has now begun processing the data.

November 2011 – Radar Deployments

At the EMEC tidal test site on Eday a marine X-band radar coupled to a Wamos recording system has been deployed for the duration of the project. It produces images of the sea surface and anything on the water surface or in the air close to the surface over a range of a few kilometers and with a range resolution of 5–10m. Sample images from this system can be found by clicking the link in the 'Marine X-Band Radar' section below.

At WaveHub, the study site is 20km from the shore and is out of range for a shore based X-band radar. At this site a much longer range High Frequency WERA Radar is being used to map the currents and wave climate of the whole region on a 1km grid.

Marine X-Band Radar – Radar derived currents now available to view.

A marine X-Band radar with 2.4m high speed antenna was deployed at the EMEC tidal test site substation during 2011. It is coupled to a Wamos recording system taking records of 256 images (about 5 minute sequence) every 30 minutes to a range of 4.8km. Summary images are sent back to the NOC via the internet and are updated on our servers approximately hourly.

As of summer 2014, a new wave inversion algorithm has been operating on the radar data to produce tidal currents automatically after every radar record is collected. To view these radar derived current plots, please select the 'mean' image in the viewer. Please not that in the absence of sufficient waves on the radar images, currents cannot be calculated and so an automated QC process blanks out such points in the results.

Aberdeen University are awarded an InnovateUK KTP in association with Meygen Ltd.

Aberdeen university have recently been awarded a InnovateUK Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Meygen Ltd. The KTP associate, Dr Benjamin Williamson will work with Meygen to explore the further development and possible application of the FLOWBEC frame to their planned tidal site in the Inner Sound of Stroma. Dr Beth Scott will act as the primary knowledge Base Advisor, with Dr Philippe Blondel (University of Bath) and Dr Paul Bell (NOC Liverpool) as additional Knowledge Base Advisors.

KTP Update November 2015: FLOWBEC Frame successfully deployed and recovered at the Meygen Site

MeyGen are involved in a two year Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Aberdeen to develop an environmental monitoring system for Phase 1a. Using the expertise of Dr Benjamin Williamson and the lessons learned from the FLOWBEC project. Flowbec was successfully installed on 8th October 2015. The successful trial gathered 10.5 days of data on the multibeam echosounder, EK60, Hydrophone, ADCP. Initial analysis shows a good baseline dataset to inform future deployments with the operational turbines. See Meygen Newsletter, February 2016